This one's a tricky topic for me. It's been many years, roughly half my life ago, but I have seen
In His Life: The John Lennon Story, as well as
Lennon Naked, and a host of other biopics of the Beatles as a group. Frankly, there are plenty of others both notable and forgettable which I haven't seen, including the popular
Nowhere Boy and the early attempt
Birth of the Beatles, because they essentially tell a particular story which I'm already so familiar with back to front, and I don't feel like a 'silver screen' version will provide any benefit or understanding to it that I'm not already aware of or can't access through more realistic and approachable means. (Not using the actual music doesn't help things either!)
I can't help but feel most of these films, if anything, actually make me feel more removed from the subject. All four of the Beatles, and especially John, are such larger-than-life individuals. Having them portrayed by other people as 'characters' reduces the dimensions of their personalities and experiences and leaves them seemingly flat - an aspect particularly enhanced with disingenuous put-on Liverpool accents, and a lack of the organic chemistry and qualities that actually made the Beatles so great and singularly unique. Although I think on some universal level, those four souls finding each other in those circumstances and growing with (and through) each other was 'meant to be,' it never translates that way in the movies, always seemingly a little too 'mythical' and predictable. For these reasons, I don't think any of these films did (or can do) their subjects justice, although I must admit that
Naked getting Christopher Eccleston was an inspired choice of casting if nothing else. All told, the choice of most of these films to somewhat fixate on John as 'troubled teen' does a tremendous disservice to a deserved focus: how strongly and bravely he attempted to cope with and overcome the emotional and psychological traumas of his younger years in a time and society which wasn't receptive to most mental health concerns out in the open, let alone someone of his stature in the constant public eye.
These sentiments definitely evoke my mixed reactions and feelings towards the upcoming individual Beatles biopics, particularly for John, as for him I feel that a relatively definitive film portrayal of his life which ends in 1969/1970 leaves it necessarily too incomplete to have a true and full picture of the mercurial man he was and is. I certainly understand the focus (assuming it remains as reported that each film ends when the band does), but I do think that his time in the Beatles, as endlessly significant as it was - a quarter of his life, after all - in many ways was still a lead-up to his 'second act,' in which he truly sought to heal and soul-search, rediscover his independence personally and artistically, and truly come to develop and understand the power of his voice as a public figure. I think John was
always great, but for me it really is from 1970-1980 in which the true extent of John's magnitude as both a person and artist truly flourished. To show him in the run-up to those years, but exclude them, feels like only telling half the story. However, there is of course no doubt that the entirety of the 'Beatles experience' was the ultimate education and key to having such a diverse and multicultural worldview and a front-row seat to the turbulent era in which he lived and thrived, one that he could access thanks to the Beatles, and a global reality that existed
because of the Beatles.
It's all these macro-level factors that give me great consternation over how this can all be effectively communicated (if it can be) in a mere two-hour or so biopic. However, I do take great solace in the fact that our gracious host here gives the project his complete approval and encouragement. With the inherent creativity and boundary-pushing qualities of his parents, and the keen and savvy awareness of opportunities created by today's technology, along with personal interest and intuition of course, Sean has provided an immense service to opening and pursuing the possibilities of sharing the Beatles' story and catalogue, John's life and music, and Yoko's life and art. I truly have so much appreciation for the way he's bridged the gap between those in the know and those who care on the outside, being so personable and approachable (through avenues such as this very forum!) - so my initial skepticism about the biopic project is largely dissuaded by my trust that if he sees it worthy, it will surpass any standard I or other fans could ever consider holding it to!
